Round 2 (Loser's Bracket) - Keder vs Leo
Haystacks & Revelations
Leo could not breathe for fear that they would hear him. From the crunch of their footsteps he could tell that they were no more than two yards away from the enormous haystack where he lay hidden. He had run out of time and he knew it. He swore in his mind, something only Jeeves could hear, and grit his teeth.
This pair of monstrous lions had been chasing him since he had appeared in the steel-walled farm. Their heightened senses and speed had almost been too much for him. They had cornered him in the cornfield maze, and he was certain that without the speed boost from Jeeves he would have been dead hours ago.
A feline head popped around the corner. Leo snapped a kick to her face as her companion turned the bend. The lion leapt at him, claws bared, going for his neck. Leo dropped to the ground and rolled with the beast, thrusting Jeeves – now a dagger – into her side as he catapulted her over his head. She roared in pain as blood filled her lung. He rocked forward just in time to connect his fist with the first lion’s snout once again, driving it into the ground. With an elbow he broke her neck and she flopped silently on her side.
He scrambled to his feet and spun, anticipating an attack by the second lion. To his surprise, it was nowhere in sight. He turned to look at the black dagger in his hand as if in disbelief. “Wow…did I really…?”
Oh don’t give yourself so much credit, boy, she simply landed in the spike pit behind that other haystack Jeeves replied.
Leo shook his head slowly. “Twenty-foot-high cornstalk mazes, rabid super-powered lions, and hidden spike pits? What kind of sick place is this anyways?”
I don’t know, but I like it. Jeeves returned to his original form as he spoke. Leo rotated him in his hands and frowned. This had not been the sort of situation he was expecting. He hadn’t even so much as
seen his opponent yet. He had seen the glowing ball he was supposed to catch at one point, but he had been running for his life and it was floating above a monster-piranha-infested irrigation ditch at the time. The judges had informed him that the only objective was to catch the ball as it glowed red, and to make sure that his opponent didn’t catch it while it was glowing green.
“What is this, a cheap Hunger Games ripoff?” he had said at the time. Leo laughed bitterly at the thought as he brushed himself off. He now turned to get his bearings and decide what to do. He hadn’t exactly had much time to plan up until this point. He could see the tall steel walls that enclosed them on all sides, though the far furthest from him easily could have been ten miles away. By the sun’s position he guessed he was close to the northeast corner of this massive property. The ball could be anywhere.
“Do you think there are traps all over the farm?” he asked.
Most certainly
Leo frowned again. To the west he could see the corn field, and to the south of him were a few silos. Further off he thought he could see the farmhouse and the silhouette of what he thought must be the barn. It was going to be almost impossible to talk to his opponent in this sort of place, and he feared he might lose before he even found him.
He was tired. Very tired. Jeeves had explained to him that even with his aid, the physical body had its limits. Leo wasn’t used to channeling the orb’s dark energies and thus would have a hard time maintaining them for any sustained period.
Time was short. Leo cursed under his breath and wiped the sweat from his brow as he set out towards the barn. Judge North had planned this on purpose, he was sure of it. They traveled carefully, Jeeves warning him of potential traps and helping him to find his way as the sky slowly darkened. The shadows cast by the steel walls were now long and ominous.
Leo turned up the collar on his dirtied white leather jacket to counter the frigid wind that had begun to sweep through. “I don’t see how the crops survive here. Rather unfriendly weather.”
Yes, Leo, unfriendly is exactly the word to describe this place, everything…and everyone
in it.
Leo pocketed the orb as he put on his gloves. He felt a chill in his bones, and it wasn’t just the drop in temperature. “Now what’s that supposed to mean, Jeeves?”
You and I both know that your “let’s be friends” attitude is going to get you killed.
“Talking to Chaos is what kept him from killing me, or don’t you remember?” Leo stiffened.
Oh yes, I remember perfectly. You held back, and got your rear end handed to you. What saved you was luck, no less. I could easily have dispatched him if you’d let me, and you know it. What are you playing at, Leo? Leo’s jaw twitched.
You can’t keep running from your past. I know what you are, Leo. I know what you’ve done. No amount of niceness can change that. You are filthy scumbag. You’re just like me…a killer.
“I’m
nothing like you.” He spat. “I’m tired of your stories of all the people you’ve killed and your sense of humor makes me sick. You are garbage, and that’s exactly where I’m leaving you when all this is though.”
Careful, boy. You don’t want to anger your only chance of survival. Without me, you’re nothing.
“I know that!” Leo was losing his patience. It had been difficult enough letting something like the orb into his possession. Thoughts of his brother and sister were the only things that kept him on track. Only for their sake was he willing to suffer. They were the flame that kept his dimly lit soul alight. Were it not for them, he would have offed himself years ago.
His thoughts trailed off as he looked up and saw a red light glowing beyond some rather gnarly apple trees. “The ball!” His eyes lit up. He felt drawn to the dancing red light. Almost…hypnotized. He pushed through his exhaustion and his gait broke into a run.
Leo-
“Shut it, Jeeves. I don’t have the patience for this right now. Lilia and James need me.” There was a newfound determination in Leo’s face as he quickened his pace.
Leo, that light isn’t-
“I said SHUT IT!” Leo refused to take his eyes off the light. He darted through the orchard, desperate to reach his destination, jumping over trap pits with abandon. It almost felt as if he was drawing closer to his siblings themselves. The light was growing stronger up ahead.
He burst into a clearing and was startled to find his opponent hanging from a branch high up in a tree, surrounded by more mutant animals. Above him floated the ball. Below him roared monstrous lions
and tigers
and bears.
“Oh my…” was all Leo could say.
**********
Keder’s arms were growing tired. “How long is this fool going to take?” He asked no one in particular as he adjusted his grip. He’d been dangling from this tree for half an hour now and it had been twenty three minutes exactly since he had reached out to his opponent. He wasn’t entirely sure how he hadn’t died in the last battle, but he was resolved not to repeat the experience. At least this time his opponent wasn’t a sick pervert.
He had, of course, been aware of Leo’s location from the start. A formidable opponent face to face, Keder had been grateful that the lions had kept him occupied. That had allowed him to save his strength for his own search for the ball.
Everything had been fine until he had run into the bears.
These hideous creatures were twice as strong as a normal bear and three times as ugly. All of the animals in this joke of a farm seemed to be horribly warped and twisted. They all foamed at the mouth and their minds were dangerously unstable. Keder had tried to crush one’s mind, but the backlash had almost knocked him out. White lights had danced before his eyes and the headache still hadn’t gone away.
Unfortunately, the noise from the bears had alerted all sorts of other animals to his presence, and he’d had to run for it. Physical contests had never been one of his strong points, so he’d hoped to lure them into a trap. He had scaled the tree and was just about to call on the rocks around them when the idea had struck him.
He remembered all this as Leo burst through the treeline. He felt a flash of annoyance, but managed to keep from swearing at the man. He had to keep up appearances, after all.
“Leo, help me!”
His opponent seemed stunned. “How do you know my name?” He called out.
“Never mind that, help me out here! You
do want my support, don’t you?”
“H…how do you-“
“AAH! I THINK MY HAND IS SLIPPING!!”
Leo looked exhausted, but he was certainly reacting. Keder found him an interesting character. He was living in denial of his past life and constantly put up an oh-so-righteous front. Keder imagined it would be rather annoying to spend much time with him in person. How the fool had gotten himself married was a mystery even to him.
Keder watched as Leo took his orb out of his pocket and hesitated for a moment before throwing it into the midst of the animals. Some had noticed him, and others were still intent on the tree. None were prepared for the blaze of light that hit them, nor the cleansing flame that followed. Keder grimaced and turned his head away. The entire clearing was enveloped in a blindingly white fire which somehow did not harm the tree, but turned every single one of the monsters to ash.
The mind-reader stared in disbelief as Leo retrieved the orb and approached the tree. That display of power had been impressive. Not only was this boy bonkers, but he had gotten his hands on an immense power to back him. His bid to destroy the tournament and “atone for his sins” was a serious threat, one Keder couldn’t overlook. He would have to be careful.
“For the sake of the divines, what
was that?”
“His name is Jeeves.” The orb morphed into a disk and floated up to rest underneath Keder’s feet.
“It’s alright,” Leo called out, “Let go of the branch.”
Slowly, hesitantly, Keder let go with one hand and lowered himself just enough to touch the floating disk with his right toe. It was solid. He released his other hand as gently as he could and wobbled a little with the disk before it stabilized and brought him back to ground level. As he drew near Keder could see that his rescuer was indeed exhausted. He was panting heavily and had his hand on his side. He almost choked as he swallowed his spit.
“It taxes you, doesn’t it?”
“Of course…it does.” Leo replied between ragged breaths. “The energy is unlimited, but I’m still not used to it flowing through me. I think…I think it will improve with time.” He wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve, revealing a scar on his right palm. “Otherwise I’d be flying everywhere.” He added with a hoarse chuckle.
“I didn’t mean the energy. I’m talking about your soul, boy. What you’ve done…what you did to obtain such power…it weighs on you.” He stepped in and put a hand on Leo’s shoulder. He thought he saw a shiver run down the boy’s spine as he did.
Leo shrugged him off. “That’s none of your business. I just saved your life. The least you can do is thank me.”
“My apologies…” Keder replied, “I couldn’t help but overhear.”
“Overhear?”
“Yes. I’m afraid your mind is a rather noisy one. I know about your past. I know about your plans to destroy the tournament.” Keder stepped forward and grabbed Leo’s hair with one hand, ramming his other palm into Leo’s forehead. “I’m afraid I can’t let you go through with that. I can’t have you destroying my one way home.” Leo’s eyes rolled back and he went slack jawed. Keder released him, and he slumped to the ground.
“Thank you, by the way. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
**********
White hot pain seared through Leo’s mind. He tried to scream, but he knew the sound never made it past the walls of his own mind. He had spent years building them up, and now they were his prison.
“Jeeves!!” He tried to shout. “Why didn’t you warn me!?” As rage built up, the walls seemed to warp around him. Everything turned to crimson. Yet he knew it was no use. He had alienated the demon and it had kept quiet, just as he had demanded. His anger broke into sorrow, and his surroundings seemed to weep with him.
“People
always get what they want.”
In front of him had appeared a woman. Her features were foggy, as was her dress, but she seemed young. Her voice was somehow soothing. She seemed familiar to him. She was holding an instrument of some kind in her hand, but he couldn’t quite make it out.
“Who…are you?”
“Does that really matter?” she replied pointedly. “Your pain has finally consumed you. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? You wanted to blot everything out. The only thing keeping you sane was hope...”
The woman’s voice trailed off and she faded into the darkness. “Wait! Don’t go! I…I-“
“You’re pathetic.” Leo recognized Jeeves’ voice and spun around. The image he met, however, was not who he had anticipated. It was his father’s loathsome image. He held a bottle in his hand and it was clear he hadn’t bathed in days. “I always knew you’d be worthless! Just like your mother!”
Behind him Leo could see his house burning, and his mother’s screams reached him from inside. The dark silhouette superimposed on his childhood home by his father’s image was fitting, in a way. A part of each of them had died when father left. Mother had not been able to cope with it. Leo hadn’t been able to cook on a gas stove since that day.
Deep down he knew he could have stopped her. He knew how unstable she was, yet he had taken up that tour offer anyways. It had seemed to easy back then. Just as it had been easy to track his father down and make him pay for what he’d done to them.
The vision swirled around him, and the screams of his mother became those of his sister. Battered and bruised, she was curled up in a corner. With bloody arms shielding her head she trembled. “NO LEO, DON’T!! IT’S ME, LILY!! IT’S MEEEE!!”
Anguish and guilt tore through Leo, and he fell to his knees. “I didn’t mean to, I really didn’t…” he sobbed with his head in his hands.
“You always were a pansy!” His father’s voice floated over to him, oozing of contempt.
The next image presented to Leo was that of his brother James, hanging from an observation tower. Leo watched him fall over and over again. He shook his head and tried to focus. He was really lying in a field somewhere, and his opponent would soon capture the ball…
“Come with me”, James had said. “We can bring her back!” But Leo hadn’t believed him. He had sent the naïve boy like a lamb to the slaughter. Leo had known there was no way James could succeed, and his odds of survival were even less. He had abandoned or destroyed everyone he had ever cared about. Now that he thought about it, he didn’t even say goodbye to his wife…
“STOP! STOP IT!! I DON’T WANT THIS!!!”
“Then what
do you want?” Judge North asked coolly as he formed in front of him. The vision of James falling to his death disappeared in a haze of smoke. “To erase all of this? That’s not possible Leo.”
“Yes, I know that now, but-“
“Do you really?” His voice boomed. “
Nothing can make up for what you’ve done. No amount of good deeds, no amount of service to humanity,
nothing will bring them back to you. Destroying the tournament won’t bring you forgiveness, Leo. You can’t put on appearances and you can’t trick everyone into thinking you’re a good guy. You cannot live this down.”
Rage and anguish seemed to wrestle for control within him as other memories flashed through his mind. People he’d abandoned. People he’d betrayed. If he could not find a reason to hope, he would never wake up. Yet all he saw was hate and pride, and all he felt was pain and fear. The woman had said he was here because he wanted to be here. No, this was worse than death.
Leo’s voice quivered. “Is there no way out, then? Is there no reason to return to reality?” Dread spread over him as he finally began to comprehend his situation. Frantically he searched through his memories for something of value. Something worth fighting for. Something…anything…
“I’m still here, daddy!”
**********
The cold shocked Leo as he awoke. Even still, he continued to sweat profusely. He slowly lifted his head to take in his surroundings. He could now see his breath, as well as countless constellations he didn’t recognize overhead. Jeeves was nowhere to be seen. He tried to push himself onto his knees, but he was too weak.
He lay back down, trying to gather his energy. As he contemplated the night sky he felt strangely…happy. The guilt was still there, and Leo supposed he would have to take that up with God in the future, but he smiled all the same. He had a reason to live.
Just then, Leo saw something green to his left. He turned to see the ball, crossing the clearing seven feet off the ground. The other contestant was leaping after it and cursing. Eventually he lost his patience and raised his arm in front of him. Pieces of the surrounding debris gathered up around the ball and slowly pulled it to him. Just as he was about to touch it, however, it shifted colors to red. Leo couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Still after that thing?” The man seemed surprised to hear Leo conscious.
“How’d you get out of that trap?” the mind-reader demanded as he turned to regard him.
“I don’t know. Don’t worry about me though, I still can’t stand yet. Now tell me, why didn’t you kill me when you had the chance?”
The hooded man came closer, the red ball cased in rocks following. “I don’t need you dead. In fact, we were told
not to kill each other. I can’t afford to get disqualified from this tournament. I need to get out of this world.”
“So you’re not from this world?” Leo looked up quizzically.
“No, I’m afraid not. The name is Keder, by the way. I’m a mind reader, among other things.”
“Yeah, I gathered.”
There fell an awkward silence between the two.
“You know…” Leo spoke up after a moment, “You don’t have to win in order to get home. You may not have considered it, but you could enlist the help of that engineer in recalibrating one of the machines they use for the tournament.”
Keder stroked his chin. The steam from his breath appeared as if smoke from a thinking pipe. “Hmm, perhaps that could work. Of course, we could never get away with stealing one. We’d need a distraction.”
Leo’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “Leave that to me.”
Keder nodded as if in approval. As he did the ball shifted from red to green. He drew it closer to him, and turned once more to examine Leo from head to toe. His tone was approving.
“You’ve impressed me, Leo. In spite of it all, I think you’ve got your priorities straight. You’ve earned my respect. I don’t give that out to just anyone.”
He placed his hand on the ball, and it began to grow brighter. The color shifted from green to bright white and even Leo could feel the heat that began to emanate from it. He heard a sizzling and realized that Keder’s hand was beginning to burn.
“AAARGH!!!” He cried. He attempted to shake the ball off, but to no avail. He grabbed at his burning right hand with his left, but it was pulled onto the ball as well, which subsequently began to rise in the air. Soon, Keder was floating a foot off the ground.
You should have killed him while you had the chance!
The look on Keder’s face was one of betrayal as he burst into flame. Pieces of burning cloth fell to the ground beside Leo as his cries reached the stars above. The stench was sickening. Leo tried to move, but could only look on helplessly as his new friend was immolated before his eyes.
When Jeeves dropped him to the ground, Keder was nothing but charred bones. Leo was quite literally paralyzed by fear as the glowing orb neared his face. He thought he felt something lift him into the air, but did not react. His shocked gaze was still fixed on the smoking remains beside him.
Come, master. We have a ball to catch!
